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Senate Bill S7116

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Enacts the voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

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2025-S7116 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A6287
Current Committee:
Senate Rules
Law Section:
Election Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §§1-104, 7-104 & 7-106, El L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:
S6169, A5934

2025-S7116 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)"; provides that each voter is entitled to the use of an individual, voter verifiable paper ballot of the voter's vote and the opportunity to mark it.

2025-S7116 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S7116 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7116
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 1, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to  enacting  the  "voting
   integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be  cited  as  the  "voting
 integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)".
   §  2.  Section  1-104 of the election law is amended by adding two new
 subdivisions 40 and 41 to read as follows:
   40. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, THE TERM  "NONTABULAT-
 ING  BALLOT  MARKING DEVICE" MEANS A VOTING MACHINE THAT CANNOT AND DOES
 NOT COUNT OR TRANSMIT VOTES AND DOES NOT RETAIN ANY OFFICIAL  RECORD  OF
 THE  VOTERS'  SELECTIONS,  BUT  CAN MARK OR PRINT VOTERS' SELECTIONS AND
 HAVE THOSE SELECTIONS PRINTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL, VOTER  VERIFIABLE  PAPER
 BALLOT.
   41.  THE TERM "HUMAN READABLE PAPER BALLOT" MEANS A PAPER BALLOT WHERE
 ALL THE CANDIDATES, BALLOT PROPOSALS AND SELECTIONS THAT COULD BE  TABU-
 LATED  ARE  READABLE  WITHOUT ASSISTANCE, OTHER THAN EYEGLASSES OR OTHER
 STANDARD PERSONAL VISION ENHANCING DEVICES.
   § 3.  Subdivision 26 of section 7-104 of the election law, as added by
 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   26. All paper ballots of the same kind for the  same  [polling  place]
 ELECTION  DISTRICT  shall  be  identical. EACH VOTER VOTING IN A POLLING
 PLACE IS ENTITLED TO THE USE OF AN INDIVIDUAL,  VOTER  VERIFIABLE  PAPER
 BALLOT  OF THE VOTER'S VOTE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO MARK IT PRIVATELY AND
 INDEPENDENTLY.  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS TITLE,  THE  TERM  "INDIVIDUAL,
 VOTER  VERIFIABLE PAPER BALLOT" MEANS A HUMAN READABLE PAPER BALLOT THAT
 IS EITHER (A) MARKED BY THE VOTER BY HAND; OR (B) MARKED THROUGH THE USE
 OF A NONTABULATING BALLOT MARKING DEVICE. VOTERS SHALL HAVE BOTH OPTIONS
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04096-01-5
 S. 7116                             2

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